Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2009

©2008 2929 Productions LLC. All rights reserved

Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga tries his hand at directing in the wake of his split with director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Together, the two made the excellent Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel. This film interweaves three narratives. The first involves the troubled sexaholic owner of an upscale restaurant (Charlize Theron in another strong performance). The second features Kim Basinger as an unhappy trucker’s wife carrying on an affair with a nice, also married, Mexican man (Joaquim de Almeida), something that has not gone unnoticed by her teenage daughter (an impressive debut by newcomer Jennifer Lawrence). And the third is about the 8-year-old daughter of a crop duster. Given Arriaga’s storytelling track record, we know that these stories will probably be told in parallel, possibly in a time-shifting structure, and that they will eventually come together for a dramatic payoff. If you can get past the film’s unrelentingly bleak tone, this is a satisfying sit. Kept my interest. The acting is first-rate, and if it lacks the emotional resonance of Inarritu’s films, Arriaga shows here that he can indeed bring his own stories to the screen. It’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with next.
[trailer]QgY0myk4VmA[/trailer]